Ukrainian parliament to form new government Feb 4 - experts

KIEV, February 1 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian experts forecast the country’s parliament will be able to form a new Cabinet of Ministers when it meets in session on February 4.

“Creation of a new government should be fast-tracked. At this point two figures are considered in earnest - independent legislator Pyotr Poroshenko and acting Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Arbuzov,” said the director of the Berta Communications consultancy, Taras Berezovets.

The chief of the Ukrainian Politics Institute, Kost Bondarenko, believes that a decision regarding a new prime minster may be made any time during the nearest session of parliament. Also, he speculates that alongside the above two candidatures some third compromise figure may emerge.

“I do not rule out there may surface a third candidate and a fourth one. Possibly, some compromise figure may come to the fore from the group of unaffiliated bankers, industrialists or people who are close to the pro-government or pro-opposition camp,” the analyst said.

Ukraine’s chief aim now is to keep the economic situation under control and to effect stabilization measures, says the board chairman of the Institute of Economic Studies and Political Consultations, Igor Burakovsky.

Pyotr Poroshenko, ranking fifth among Ukraine’s wealthiest people, with personal assets estimated at about 1.8 billion dollars, already has a record of civil service despite his young age (by political standards) of 48 years. For the first time he was elected to the national legislature back in 1998. He was a member of the 3rd and 4th parliaments. As one of the richest people in the entourage of the former president, Viktor Yushchenko, Poroshenko was one of the main financial sponsors of the orange revolution of 2004-2005. After Yushchenko’s victory in the December 2004 presidential election rerun he was appointed to lead Ukraine’s National Security Council. From 2007 through 2012 Poroshenko led the council of Ukraine’s National Bank. In 2009 President Yushchenko appointed him for the post of Ukraine’s foreign minister, which he left in 2010. In March through December 2012 he occupied the seat of the minster of economic development and trade. Currently Poroshenko is a member of the 7th Verkhovna Rada. Apart from the confectionery manufacturer Roshen Poroshenko owns several automobile plants and shipyards and an opposition-minded television broadcaster, Channel 5.

Sergei Arbuzov, the acting first deputy prime minister, who has led the government since the resignation of Nikolai Azarov, started his career in banking. In 2012 he was first deputy chief of the National Bank of Ukraine. In 2010-2012 led the National Bank of Ukraine. First deputy prime minister since December 2012.

The prime minister’s seat became vacant after Nikolai Azarov on January 28 tendered his resignation, which President Viktor Yanukovich accepted later in the day to have signed a decree to dismiss the prime minister and his government. Azarov, the leader of the Party of Regions, has led the Cabinet since March 2012.